Jan 03, 2011

Take our Annual Independent Worker Survey now. Building supports for freelancers can only happen if we know about you–what you’re doing, how often you’re doing it, why you’re doing it, and what you’re struggling with. That’s why it’s so important that you fill out our annual survey of independent workers. While independent workers constitute nearly one-third of the workforce, there is limited information about the kind of work that they do and the issues that affect them. Freelancers Union aims to fill that knowledge gap through our annual survey. We use the survey results to help policymakers and the media understand issues that affect independent workers, as well as to shape our advocacy team’s agenda to push for legislative changes. Needless to say, the more respondents we have, the better our data and the more we can do. So we urge all independent workers—members or not—to complete the survey. Your responses are not only helpful to us, but also lead to positive changes for you. For example, in 2009, we conducted a survey of over 3,000 independent workers from across the country and published the findings in a report, Independent, Innovative, and Unprotected: How the Old Safety Net is Failing America’s Workforce. The survey was covered by various news outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, which highlighted our finding that 40% of freelancers had trouble getting paid what they earned in 2009, and USA Today, which mentioned that 18% of independent workers were forced to give up health insurance last year, and 39% cut back coverage. After hearing from independent workers that one of their greatest challenges in 2009 was not being paid for the work they completed, Freelancers Union developed a policy proposal to allow independent contractors to file wage claims through the New York State Department of Labor. Working with New York State policymakers, we successfully convinced the Senate and Assembly to introduce legislation (S8084/A11520), and we will continue to push for this bill to pass in 2011 to ensure that independent contractors have access to the same labor protections that traditional employees do. If you’re an independent worker—self-employed, freelancer, consultant, part-time, or temporary—please take a few minutes to complete our survey now to advance issues that affect you. And, don’t forget your freelance amigos—email this link on to them, or post it on your Facebook profile: www.surveywriter.net/in/survey/survey937/2010Advocacy.asp